Career in the Tourism industry

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” – If you feel inspired everytime you read this popular quote; or if you feel you’re free-spirited and find solace in travelling as well as exploring new destinations, then trust me on this – these are signs you’ve been bitten by the travel bug.The travel and tourism industry in India is expected to grow and recruit heavily in the upcoming years.

Travel and tourism is one of the most exciting industries, with plenty of job options. According to India Today, the travel and tourism industry of India will have 45 million job opportunities by the year 2025. Like all other fields, the travel and tourism industry has received a great boost due to the digital age. The digitisation of almost everything today has led to increased awareness, curiosity, engagement and involvement. Many roles and job opportunities that did not exist before are now high in demand due to increasing Internet penetration. Owing to digitisation, people are now more aware and exposed to interesting destinations and travelling. This has given the travel and tourism industry a great boost, which has resulted in different and more career opportunities in this field.

Students can now take up adventurous and fascinating careers under travel and tourism. Read the following to know about some of the most interesting careers in this field that will give you serious travel goals!

Travel Journalism:

Probably one of the fastest growing professions, travel journalism is a very adventurous and exciting profession. The field of travel journalism has plenty of job roles, including travel writing, anchoring, photography, production, etc. Many TV channels broadcast travel shows and there are many travel channels that need people for anchoring, writing reviews, travel blogs, etc., all these fall under the category of travel journalism. Due to the easy availability and access to the internet in the digital age, it has become very easy for travel journalism to flourish as a profession. The internet has enabled the travel writers, photographers, bloggers and anchors to be able to function as independent travel journalists and reach large audiences. Many travel publications like Tripoto, Conde Nast Traveller etc, also hire journalists to do travel writing for them. Many television or YouTube channels also produce travel shows, where they recruit people with channel production knowledge and an interest in travelling.

Holiday Consultants/Travel Agents:

While travelling there are so many things to do and see, and planning a trip can become really overwhelming at times. Holiday consultants/Travel agents and counsellors make this job easy. Holiday consultants/Travel agents are very popular these days as they are able to reduce the stress of planning the itinerary, booking tickets, accommodation, etc. These agents and counsellors are able to devise an entire package and advise their clients and work on a commission basis or a fixed rate, depending on whether they are working in an agency full-time or have their own independent business. To pursue a career as a travel agent/counsellor, a candidate should have good research skills, soft skills, organisational skills, etc. There is no particular education qualification required to pursue this profession, but usually, for agencies, a bachelor’s degree is required.

Adventure Sports Instructors:

Adventure sports instructor is probably one of the most growing professions in the travel and tourism industry. Scuba diving, hiking and trekking guide/ trainer, river rafting instructor, skydiving instructors and much more, are subcategories under the adventure sports instructor profession. To become an adventure sports instructor, it is important to be passionate about sports, health and most of all, ‘adventures’ (as the title goes!). Health and fitness is a key ingredient to become and have a successful career as an adventure sports instructor. To pursue this as a profession, one has to undergo training first and then work along with an expert for few years before they can handle clients all by themselves. The more the experience, the more the professional you are in this field. It should be noted that this profession does carry with it some risks in terms of health and safety, but if you have the sportsperson’s spirit and a zest for an adventurous, spontaneous life, then this is the field for you!

Cruise Industry:

The cruise industry has ample of opportunities in several areas like marketing, hospitality, entertainment, engineering, captain, directors, etc. The vacation cruises that sail across the globe are individual organisations in themselves and hence function as any other company. From sitting in an office and marketing for the cruise to actually steering the cruise, this industry has several, unexplored areas of professions. For on-the-cruise jobs, there are certain specific qualifications that they look for, but if one is qualified enough and ready to sail across oceans, then this is one industry where you will get to work while travelling the world and experience a life, very distinct from others. It should be noted that this industry has a lot of travelling and is not a one place job. A cruise travels to many locations across the globe and hosts a very diverse audience, so it’s important to have good conversation skills, knowledge of the cruise industry, organisational skills and of course should be ready for challenges.

Travel Guide/Expert:

The job of a travel guide/expert is to show around and enlighten their client with the facts, history, stories etc., of a city or a monument. A travel guide needs to be really well knowledgeable about the area they are working in. The history of the place, the facts and figures of the place, they are almost like a walking, talking encyclopaedia for their clients/ tourists. They should be open to challenging situations and questions from their clients. No particular education qualification is required in this stream, but a good awareness and knowledge about everything there is to know about a city or a place is a necessity for this job.

Travel Blogger:

In recent years, travel blogging has become quite popular with people from around the world earning their living from it. What started as a hobby has now turned into a full-time profession for many people. Travel blogging may involve writing travelling experiences, sharing opinion pieces on destinations and exhibiting exclusive pictures of different places. To start with, one has to create a blog post and use techniques or writing skills to engage theaudience and get attention from companies looking to work with travel bloggers. From giving food recommendations, tips on budget travel plans to providing videos and writing eye-catchy narratives – there is a lot of scopes for travel bloggers to build an online presence.

Apart from these offbeat careers, the travel and tourism industry has always been a heavy recruiter of hospitality experts. Areas like hotel management, cabin crew, merchant navy etc., are the evergreen professions that have been in place for many years now and continue to be popular professions in the travel and tourism industry.

With increasing digitisation, a lot of new professions are branching out of traditional professions and areas of work. Whatever you may choose in the travel and tourism industry, this is one area where your work life will be very interesting and challenging!